The inaugural Agriculture Investment Conference & Expo opened to strong expectations, with government officials, experts, farmers and financing institutions all highlighting the growing importance of building capacity, diversifying and modernising the country’s agricultural sector.
The 2026 Agriculture Investment Conference & Expo, underway at the Nampower Convention Centre in Windhoek, started yesterday and will officially end today.
Yesterday’s keynote speaker was deputy minister of agriculture Ruthy Masake, who spoke at length about the various opportunities within the local sector for farmers and investors, and also reiterated that the government’s overarching objective is to drive local agricultural production, improve water security, and lower reliance on food imports.
The minister said the gathering is one of many platforms to equip local farmers with information and connect them with potential investors and funding institutions.
“The aim is to achieve complete food security for Namibia over the coming decades. It is important that we, as a country, strengthen the country’s food processing capability and value chains. Should we succeed in cutting down on our food imports, we could save up to N$2 billion annually, and that money can be reinvested in other areas that will further empower our farmers and sector,” she said.
Yesterday’s presentations also highlighted the potential of Namibia’s various green schemes and how they are expanding rapidly under a massive, state-driven push for food self-sufficiency, climate resilience, and a transition to a green industrial economy.
Namibia has launched an aggressive strategy to achieve 80% food self-sufficiency by 2030, aiming to drastically reduce its heavy reliance on food imports.
Currently, Namibia imports roughly 60% of its national food requirements, including nearly all of its fruit and massive quantities of staple grains.
The country has launched a strategy to slash its heavy reliance on imported fruit by 2030. Currently, the country imports 95% to 97% of the fruit its population consumes.
To reverse this trend, the Namibian Agronomic Board (NAB) has introduced the Fruit Value Chain Development Scheme (FVCDS). This initiative aims to bolster local cultivation, scale up domestic supply chains, and transform the country’s broader agricultural economy.
Outlined in the country’s Sixth National Development Plan (NDP6) and championed by President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, this initiative seeks to transform Namibia’s agricultural sector from subsistence farming into a commercial powerhouse.
The plan targets expanding cultivated land from 11 200 to
130 000 hectares by 2030, and irrigation and green scheme projects are receiving increased investment, helping local white maize cover about 31% of consumption. The government is currently aggressively engaging private investors through long-term leases and Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs).
For instance, negotiations are active with local and international investors to take over operations at Uvhungu-Vhungu to maximise commercial efficiency.
High electricity tariffs have historically crippled irrigation profits at most schemes, but it was shared yesterday that the government is now installing hybrid solar energy systems across critical installations, including the Etunda, Sikondo, and Ndonga Linena schemes, to dramatically lower overhead costs.
The conference also demonstrated how Namibia’s global push into clean energy is directly feeding its agricultural potential.
For example, the Dâures Green Hydrogen Village in the Erongo region serves as a pilot network demonstrating how large-scale renewable green hydrogen and ammonia production can directly integrate with community farming, advanced local fertiliser production, and food security.
Crucial
Meanwhile, renowned businessman and farmer Beau Kauta also touched on the importance of platforms like the ongoing 2026 Agriculture Investment Conference and Expo for small-scale farmers, saying they help them gain valuable exposure and access to potential financing.
“It is very important for us to appreciate such initiatives. This is not necessarily just for agriculture. I think there are many offshoots of this, but as the minister said, we import way too much food, primarily horticulture. This is after 36 years of independence. So, when you look at our import bill, it’s steadily rising from 2010 to today. It has risen by 24% to over N$4.4 billion. So, I think at the end of the day, my focus as an entrepreneur is primarily on the water and how we can reuse it to sustain the agriculture sector,” said Kauta.
He said the conference comes at a time when Namibia is scaling up investments across groundwater, desalination, and water reclamation to ease pressure on freshwater sources meant for food security.
Kauta said reusing water for agriculture is one of the most critical strategies for achieving food security and environmental sustainability.
Unlike surface water or rainfall, which are highly vulnerable to climate change and seasonal disruptions, wastewater generation remains constant year-round.
This gives farmers a predictable, drought-proof water supply, supporting consistent irrigation schedules, reducing the risk of crop failure, and stabilising local food production.
Recycling water locally through decentralised treatment facilities often requires significantly less energy and investment than alternatives like marine desalination or pumping freshwater across long mountain ranges.
Because agriculture accounts for over 70% of global freshwater withdrawals, he underscored that transitioning to recycled water eases extreme pressure on the world’s limited freshwater ecosystems.
-ohembapu@nepc.com.na
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